To Be Your Hero
by coldsummernights
Summary: "My mind had been occupied by one thing: Am I really happy with Mike?" Future Fic. Nationals 2011. Mike/Tina/Artie Tina's POV. My first fic, please R&R! :D
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Hey everyone! I really hope you guys will enjoy this one! And please don't forget to review. :D

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"Are you ready for our flight tomorrow?" Mike asked while he was driving on our way home from school.

"Of course, you bet. I'm so excited for Nationals. And it's been years since the last time I went to New York." I smiled. "Looks like someone is excited for his first time going to New York..." I teased him.

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see Times Square." He blushed. "And I'm so nervous for my dance solo."

"I bet you would do great, Honey." I poked him.

"Thanks." He smiled. "Hey, I've heard that you and Artie are lab partners in biology class."

" Yeah. Why? What's wrong with that?" I asked.

"WHAT? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?" He suddenly shouted at me.

"Hey, don't shout at me! Are we arguing over this again?" I raised my voice.

We've been arguing like this since when Artie and Brittany broke up & when Mr. Schue gave us the duet number for Nationals. He said that now that they've broke up, there's a possibility that I might leave him and go back to Artie. I asked him if he was jealous of Artie, but he just answered that he's just scared of me leaving him.

"If you don't want us to fight over and over again, Tina, then you must know your boundaries when you're with him. We've already talked about that, remember?"

"But if you really TRUST me, then you shouldn't be jealous of him! And besides, we're not doing anything! We're just lab partners!" I shouted.

"Yeah, yeah, _lab partners_."

"UGH! ENOUGH! I've had enough of this, Mike. STOP THE CAR." I said.

"No." He argued.

"I SAID STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW, MICHAEL!" I shouted. He pushed the breaks. I took my things and got out of the car. "I'm so tired of this, Mike. Maybe we should cool things off for a while." I said to him before I slammed the door.

"Are you breaking up with me? TINA, GET BACK HERE!" I heard him shouted as I started to run away.

Tears started to form in my eyes when I was on my way home. Back when I was still dating Artie, Artie would never raise his voice whenever we got into an argument. Sure there were times that he ignored me and had been a bad boyfriend, but he never shouted at me. I _love_ Mike. He really treats me well, he never ignores me, and my dad likes him for me. But what I hate about him is that he always shouts at me and hurts me whenever we argue over something.

I was still sobbing when I got home, good thing nobody was home so nobody saw me crying. I went straight to my room to fix my things for our flight tomorrow for Nationals. A few minutes later, I heard my stomach grumbling, so I went downstairs and started to prepare dinner. While I was in the middle of cooking, my older sister, Tessa, got home.

"Hey Tina, what's cooking?" She said as she took off her coat and closed the door.

"I'm making spaghetti for dinner. I'm almost finished. Wanna help me in fixing the table?" I asked.

She walked in the kitchen and got some plates in the dishwasher and fixed the table. While we were eating, I caught her staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Your eyes seem to be sore. Have you cried?" She inquired.

"No." I denied.

"_Ah gi_, I know you. Tell me."

"No, I didn't cry."I continued to deny. She just raised her eyebrow at me.

"Okay, fine. Yes, I cried." I admitted.

My sister and I are really close to each other. My _eonni _was the one who took care of me since when our parents had been in-and-out of the country because of our family business in Korea. She really knows me too well. She knows how to cheer me up when I'm sad, when I really needed a hug, and she knows if I am hiding something from her.

"Why?" She gave me a puzzled look.

"Mike and I had fought again this afternoon while he was driving me on the way home. He suddenly got jealous again over Artie because he found out that he was my lab partner in biology. And every time we argue, he always shouts at me. You know how much I really hate to be shouted at, right?"

She simply nodded. "So what did you do?"

"I said we should cool things off between us for a while, and then I left him." I sighed.

"Does Artie know about this?" She asked.

"No." I shook my head. "Do you think I should tell him?"

"I don't think so. Maybe things could get worse if you're gonna tell him."

But as my best friend, I want to tell this to Artie. But looking at him as my ex –boyfriend, my sister has a point.

"Tina, I know that you love Mike. But be honest with me, are you happy with him?" She asked me.

It took me a while before I have answered her. I'm really not sure if I'm happy with Mike right now. In our first few months of dating, yes, I was happy when I'm with him. But our fights became more often these past few days. And every time Artie and I would talk to each other, he always gets mad at me. To be really honest, I can't understand him. I know that Artie and Mike are really good friends, but I really don't know why he is so jealous of Artie.

I kept on tossing and turning when I lay in my bed that night. As much as I wanted to go to sleep, I can't. My mind had been occupied by one thing:

_Am I really happy with Mike?_

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**_AN: _**_Ah gi_ is the Korean term for baby, and _Eonni_ is for big sister. :D


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** OMG, WHO FREAKED OUT ON THE SUPERBOWL EP LAST NIGHT? Hahahaha Oh, I really hope you'd all enjoy this one. PLEASE DONT FORGET TO REVIEW! =))

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Then the morning came. Mom and dad just got home from their business trip last midnight so Tessa volunteered to bring me to school. When we got to the parking lot of McKinley, most of the New Directions were already there inside the bus that we're going to ride to the airport.

I took a deep breath before saying goodbye to my sister. "Good luck, Tina. I really hope you guys would win. And if anything happens, just call me. I love you, Ah gi. And, take care of yourself." Then she hugged me before I went inside the bus.

"I will, eonni. Love you too." I smiled.

When I got inside the bus, Mercedes and Artie were talking to each other. "Hey girl! Good morning!" Mercedes greeted. "Hey, is that Tessa outside?" She asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. Mercedes and Artie waved at her and greeted her before she got to her car and went home.

"I bet someone's excited for their duet tomorrow..." Mercedes teased Artie and me. At first, I was hesitant to do the duet with him because Mike might get mad at me. But I realized that I've waited for so long to do this, and this is like a dream come true to me. And it's not like all the time that I get to sing the lead part.

"Are you ready, Tina?" Artie asked.

"You bet I am." I smiled. Then I've felt like there is someone staring at me. As I looked behind me, I saw Mike. I just ignored him for the rest of the trip, but I always catch him looking at me.

Everybody was so excited when our plane landed in New York. Mercedes and I sat next to each other. I can really feel her excitement since this is her first time in going to New York.

"Guys, I want all of us to cherish this moment. I really won't forget you guys when I get fam-" Rachel said.

"Yeah, yeah, just shut your mouth, Berry." Santana interrupted.

While waiting for our hotel shuttle outside the airport, Mr. Schue gave us our room assignments. I got to share the room with Mercedes and Rachel. Once we all got to our hotel, Mr. Schue treated us for dinner at the hotel ballroom. I don't know what's with him, but I think he's in a splurging mood right now. And I'm not even complaining.

"I propose a toast to us. No matter what will happen tomorrow, I will always be proud of you guys." Mr. Schue got teary-eyed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Schue. We will win that trophy. We'll make you proud." Finn said. "To New Directions," He raised his glass.

"To New Directions!" We all toasted.

"I really wished Kurt was here with us." Mercedes whispered to me.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I miss Kurt so much."

"Yeah, me too," She nodded her head.

Then after eating our dinner, they all went to the dance floor and partied. "Hey, are you sure you really don't wanna dance with us?" Brittany asked me.

"Yeah, I'm really not in the mood right now. I guess I'll just stay here." I answered.

"Oh, okay." She smiled at me then she went her way to the dance floor with Santana.

"Hey," I heard someone called me. I looked around to see who called me. And when I looked at the other table, it was Artie.

"Why aren't you dancing with them, Tina?" He asked me as he rolled himself to my table.

"Nah, I'm just not in the mood to party right now." I answered.

"Why, is there a problem?" He asked.

"Nah, not really..."

"Oh c'mon Tina, I've been your best friend since, what, 7th grade. I know you." Then he putted his arms on the table and placed his chin on his hand. "C'mon Tina, tell me." He joked while he batted his eyelashes. "...Tell me."

"Stop doing that, you look like a fool." I laughed.

"Then tell me what is it," He laughed.

"Okay, okay, you got me." I surrendered. "Well, yesterday, Mike and I fought again. You know that I really hate being shouted at, right?"

"Uh huh," He nodded his head.

"So yeah, every time Mike and I would get into an argument, he would always shout at me." I said. "Then when I got home, I told Tessa about what happened. Then she told me something, well not really told, but asked. And her question had been stuck to my mind since last night." I told him, and then I looked at Mike, who was dancing with Brittany.

"Oh," Artie said, dumb folded. "Oh, uh, well I hope you would be okay soon, Tee. Uh, you know that I'm always here for you if ever you need a friend or maybe just someone that you could talk to." He patted my shoulder.

"Thanks, Artie." I smiled at him. I tried to look into his eyes, but he looked the other way. "Hey, you know what, I've missed you."

"You missed me? I was never gone." He laughed.

"I just really missed, you know, _us._" Then I suddenly blushed.

"Really?" He laughed as he pushed his glasses and played with his gloves. "Well, I've missed you too." He smiled.

"Hey have you noticed, this is the longest time that we've talked to each other since..."

"You broke up with me?" He smiled.

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Well, yeah, I've noticed that too. I'm really glad we became friends again." He blushed.

"Dork!" I suddenly teased him.

"Goth!" He laughed.

"Nerd!" I stuck my tongue.

"Sloppy Eater!" He also stuck out his tongue at me.

"I am not!" I laughed as I poked him on his side.

"Yes you are!" He laughed.

"Oh yeah?" I raised an eyebrow, "Well, prove it."

"Remember when you went to my 12th birthday party?" He smirked.

"I was about to wipe my mouth when you saw me!" I protested.

"Yeah, yeah..." He crossed his arms and turned back against me.

"Fine. Be that way." I crossed my arms too and faced the opposite direction.

"Hey," he faced me. "I was just kidding..." I tried not to laugh as he looked at me with his puppy eyes.  
"Tina, c'mon, I was just kidding. Sorry." He apologized.

I really tried not to laugh as he continued to stare at me, but I couldn't control it any longer. "Fooled ya!" I laughed like an idiot. Then I noticed that he was still staring at me. "What?" I asked.

"Oh," He smiled. "Nothing. It's just that-" he paused.

"What?"

"I...I just realized how much I missed your laugh." He chuckled.

"Oh," My cheeks turned red. "Hey, you know what, I think this is the longest time that we've talked to each other again." I laughed.

"Yeah," He nodded. "I always feel like Mike might get mad at me every time I try to talk to you." I suddenly chuckled. "Why?" He asked.

"Nothing," I shook my head.

"I think we should do this more often, Tina." He laughed.

"Uh-huh." I agree with him, we should really do this often. It makes me more...at ease. "Artie, I'm so nervous for tomorrow." I sighed.

"Me either." He admitted. "But I'm pretty sure that we're gonna win." He smiled.

"Are you sure?" I giggled.

"Well if you're gonna be optimistic, we will surely win." He laughed.

"Well I hope you're right." I smiled. "Uh, Artie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?" He smiled.

"Uh, why did you break up with Brittany?" I know it was awkward to ask him that, but he never really told me why they break up.

"Uh..the reason why-"

"It's okay if you don't want to answer it." I said.

"It's okay, Tina." He smiled. "Well, I broke up with her because I, uh, I realized that I was...No, I realized that I really don't have feelings for her. I mean, I love her as a friend, but aside from that..." He shook his head.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that, Artie." Well I was shocked to hear that because, based from what I've observed, I thought that he was in love with her.

"Oh, don't be sorry, Tina." He chuckled. "The feeling was mutual when we broke up."

"Why? I mean, how come?" I tilted my head.

"You know Brit." He smiled. "Tina, erm, I've been bugging to ask you something too, but..."

"Sure, go ahead." I laughed.

He faintly smiled as he fiddled his gloves. "Why did you break up with me?" He looked at me in the eyes, "Tina, I know that it's not really because I ignored you all summer and because Mike has really nice abs..." His smile suddenly became a frown. "I know that there's more than that, Tina..."

At that moment, I really don't know what to answer to him. I don't know how to explain the truth, and where will I start. "Artie, I'm really sorry. I know that I've hurt you when we broke up. But the truth is, my dad found out that we're dating. And he threatened me that if I wouldn't break up with you, he would send me to Korea and they would never let me go back here. And then he had set me up with Mike to be Camp Councillors at Asian Camp. I don't want to go there at first, but you were ignoring me at that time, so I agreed with him. And that's where it all started..." I felt that tears were starting to form from my eyes, "I've never really wanted to hurt you, Artie. I never really wanted to break up with you." Then I started to cry.

"Shh, it's alright, Tina. I understand." He comforted me. "And besides, if you didn't do that, I wouldn't realize that I've been a bad boyfriend to you." He said as he wiped my tears.

"But Artie..." I continued to cry.

"_Hush little Tina, don't you cry, Artie's gonna hug you, gonna make you smile."_ He always used to sing that to me every time I cry.

I embraced him and continued to cry. At that moment, I felt like all of my problems had been piled up, and all I wanted to do is cry. "It's alright, Tee. It's alright." He hugged me.

"Thank you, Artie." I said as I pulled away from him. "I'm sorry if you had to see me cry like this." I laughed faintly as I wiped my tears.

"It's alright. I'm used to it anyway." He laughed.

I mock-glared him. "What? I was just kidding." He said.

"I know," I giggled. "I probably should go back to our room, I look like a mess. Thanks for listening, Artie," I hugged him and then stood up. "Tell Mercedes that I already went back to our room, thanks."

When I got back to our room, I immediately changed to my pajamas and went tv channel surfing. After a few minutes later, Mercedes came in.

"Hey girl," She greeted. "Artie said that you were already here,"

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling very well, so I went here early." I said while she was changing her clothes inside the bathroom. "Hey, where's Rachel?"

"Oh," She said as she stepped outside the bathroom, "I also left early too. But they said that they're gonna go back here in a few minutes." She said as she sat beside me in our bed. "Hey, did you cried?" She suddenly asked me.

"No, why would I?" I pretended.

"Yes you did, your eyes are sore." She smirked. "Why? What's the matter? Is this about Mike?" I just nodded my head. "Aww, Tina, its okay. I'm sure you guys will be okay soon."

"I hope so," I sighed. "Cedes, have you ever regretted something in your life?" I suddenly asked her.

"Well, yeah, I've regretted not telling my grandpa that I love him before he died." She frowned. "Why'd you ask? Hmm, let me guess...is this about Artie?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "I feel kinda guilty for breaking up with him..."

"How about Mike?" She asked.

"I don't know, Mercedes... I don't know..." I started to cry again.

"Shh, it's alright, Tina." She wrapped her arms around me.

"I'm not using Mike as a rebound, you know that. I never used Mike as a rebound." I cried.

"But, Tina, be honest with me," She looked at me, "Do you love Mike?" Then Tessa's question suddenly flashbacked into my mind, "_Are you happy with him?" _

"I don't know..." I buried my hands into my face, "I _know_ that I love Mike, but-"

"If you love Mike, why are you guilty of breaking up with Artie?" She asked.

"I don't know," I shook my head.

"Tina, please don't get me wrong, but it seems to me that you still love Artie."

"I've learned to love Mike. He's really a great boyfriend, and my dad likes him. But Artie..."

"Well girl, you can teach your mind, but you can never fool your heart." She smiled.

"I know," I sniffled. "What should I do, Cedes?"

"Follow your heart." She smiled.

That night, while Mercedes and Rachel were already asleep, I went to the deck of our hotel.  
"_Do you love Mike? Are you happy with him?"_ Those questions had been running through my mind. I _know_ that I love Mike, but why am I feeling like this for Artie? Is it because I've missed talking to him? The talk we had was the most decent conversation that I've had since we broke up. Sure when we became friends again, we talked to each other. But all of those was just like hi's and hello's. I know that they're good friends, but I don't know why he was afraid of talking to me because of Mike. I've missed laughing like that, I missed those moments where just hang around his bedroom and just laugh until both of our stomachs hurt, I miss that kind of happiness.

"Tina," I suddenly heard a voice. "What are you doing here?" When I turned around, it was just Mike.

"Hey," I smiled.

"What are you doing here? It's almost midnight." He hugged me from my back and putted his arms around my waist.

"I can't sleep, that's why I went here." I placed my arms on top of his.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Tina." He said. "I hope you can forgive me."

"It's okay," I faced him.

"I-I just love you so much, Tina. Maybe that's why I'm so overprotective of you."

"I love you too, Mike." I said, "But I think I need to find myself. I think we should stop this first."

"You're breaking up with me?" He frowned.

I just nodded. "Is this because of Artie?" He asked.

"No, it's not because of him. I just really need time to find the true me. Mike, you're an amazing guy, and I don't think I deserve all of your love right now. I just, I just need space. I hope you'd understand." My eyes started to tear up again.

"If that makes you happy," He wiped the tears from my eyes. "But I am not going to give up on you."

"Thank you, Mike." I hugged him. "So, uh, I should be going now. I'll see you tomorrow." I swear that I've heard him whisper, "I love you" as I walked away. I really didn't mean to break his heart, that's the last thing that I would do, but I think this is the best thing to do right now.

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PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :D


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